James Gurney

This weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

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All images and text are copyright 2015 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.

However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

In addition to perfecting the art of animation, Disney Studios mastered the art of the behind-the-scenes film. (Link to YouTube)

In this glimpse into the making of the 1955 feature Lady and the Tramp, animator Frank Thomas demonstrates lip synch and the pencil test. After that, Milt Kahl runs through some character sketches for Tramp, and flips through the scene introducing Tramp.

The live action camera moves in and out of their workspaces and smoothly cuts to the filmed tests, some of which have been cleaned up and given a hint of background and flicker especially for this presentation.

Even though the view of the process is slightly contrived, it gives a good layman's introduction to how animated films were made.

Walt Disney recognized the power of television as a vehicle for sharing the process and the history of his art form. His television program, which began in 1954 on ABC, presented "The Story of the Animated Drawing.

Disney wasn't the first to create behind-the-scenes documentaries, though. Winsor McCay did it decades earlier (Link to YouTube), with whimsical exaggeration.

Oh, wonderful! I watched the Lady and the Tramp one 3 times and my kids loved it. Fantastic window into their process. I love Drawn to Life by Walt Stanchfield. I think I find something new every time I read it.